I personally think they are rather evil and a brain drain (much like most TV). Have seen families with kids at restaurants spend entire meals with those little things in their paws, with no conversation or interaction....HOW SAD!!!!

Have told well meaning grandparents they will introduce these items to our children over my dead and lifeless body-in a nicer way, of course, but they got the hint after numerous offers.

All technology isn't bad, mind you. But if it inherently separates us from others, what good is it really? I want my kids to become exceptional human beings with a grand curiosity for life and people....These items simply have no place in our home.

DItto on no guns ever. I ask every parent offering a playdate if they keep guns anywhere in their home. Have had some shocked replies and found out one dad was a parole officer and did!

Just my opinion....

I was (still am) a huge bookworm and often spent entire lazy days as a kid with my nose in a book. It doesn't take technology to keep someone out of the conversation

~Nay

Reneé, 34 year old mom to Antonin 8/04 and Arianna 9/06 . (6 weeks) 5/08. Married to Matt since 6/03 .

I will not buy any food that is labeled low-fat, sugar free, diet etc.

WHOHOOO ME TOO! I make an exception for Diet Pepsi, which is my vice of choice. But other than that, the words "diet" "low-fat" "sugar free" and ESPECIALLY "LOW CARB" have me glossing straight over that product on the shelves. Even if it is something I would buy anyway, if it is labelled like that, I'll leave it (example: bacon labelled "low carb"...even if I previously enjoyed that brand, I'm not buying it now).

children's books or toys that are really just big adveritsements for cartoons

Baby Einstein DVDs-they freak me out

Any words that are used to demean people because of their race/religion/sexual preference, or ability whether or not there is someone there who would actually be offended. DH has friends that I have banned from the house for this. One hasn't been allowed in for 3 years because he thinks it's cute to say them in front of me.

They use children in Asia (o.k...the exact location is not coming to me at the moment...sorry) to make their clothes. Kinda ironic huh? I often think about what those children are thinking about while they make those cute clothes in THEIR size?

disgusting...

I couldn't find any info. on this when I googled...can you post a link to this info.?

I noticed some of you said you don't use aluminum cookware? At the risk of sounding naive, can you tell me what the danger is? We got tons of very expensive Calphalon cookware for wedding gifts 2 years ago, and we use it all the time. I believe it's all aluminum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tanibani

Corvus, I'd be very surprised if your very expensive set was all alluminum. Most expensive sets are stainless steal (with maaaaybe aluminum at the bottom.) Check online.http://www.calphalon.com

We also have a set of wonderful Calphalon and it is Hard-Anodized Aluminum. I'm still on the fence about aluminum cookwear, expecially the anodized stuff. In the anodization (is that a word) the surfaces of the pan are altered into Aluminum Oxide, meaning straight aluminum never touches your food.

As FDA and researchers point out, aluminum is ubiquitous. It is the
third most abundant element in the earth's crust (after oxygen and silicon).
It is in air, water and soil, and ultimately in the plants and animals we
eat.
Many over-the-counter medicines also contain aluminum. According to the
Aluminum Association, one antacid tablet can contain 50 milligrams of
aluminum or more, and it is not unusual for a person with an upset stomach
to consume more than 1,000 milligrams, or 1 gram, of aluminum per day. A
buffered aspirin tablet may contain about 10 to 20 milligrams of aluminum.
In contrast, in a worst-case scenario, a person using uncoated aluminum
pans for all cooking and food storage every day would take in an estimated
3.5 milligrams of aluminum daily. Aluminum cookware manufacturers warn that
storing highly acidic or salty foods such as tomato sauce, rhubarb, or
sauerkraut in aluminum pots may cause more aluminum than usual to enter the
food. (Also, undissolved salt and acidic foods allowed to remain in an
aluminum pot will cause pitting on the pot?s surface.) However, aluminum
intake is virtually impossible to avoid, and the amount leached in food from
aluminum cookware is relatively minimal, according to Thomas.

MoonGypsy, we had the hard anodized Calphalon as well. Contrary to what Tanibani had posted, it is NOT stainless steel; it is, well, aluminum. I read your post, but wanted to chime in that DH and I have recently put away our Calphalon and replaced it with a Cuisinart Chef's Classic stainless steel set. We also bought a cast iron skillet and a cast iron Dutch oven. Iron can leech into foods from cast iron pans, but in the case of iron, that is a good thing.

We just didn't want to take the risk with the Calphalon anymore. And frankly, the finish on the inside of some of the pans was coming off, so we felt that the aluminum was probably exposed.

Cooking real food instead of preservative laden convenience foods is more convenient for me. For instance to make tortillas all you need is flour, salt, shortening, and water plus a rolling pin! It's so easy! And if you've never had a fresh tortilla well you are missing out! (They take 10 minutes to make homemade.) To buy them pre-made (convenient?) I would have to get 3 kids in carseats and fight traffic to buy them hoping I could find some relatively healthy ones. This also assumes I have time to buy them beforehand otherwise dinner is put off until we get back from the store and the kids will be hungrier and crankier than if we made them at home! (I am also 26 weeks pregnant!) (This would take 30 minutes+?)

Can you share your recipe for tortillas? I would LOVE to make them at home and fresh when we eat them but havent found a good recipe yet. The ones I made tasted like paper! (not that Ive eaten much paper )

Cooking real food instead of preservative laden convenience foods is more convenient for me. For instance to make tortillas all you need is flour, salt, shortening, and water plus a rolling pin! It's so easy!

While I agree with your assertion that cooking at home can be more convenient (and healthier) than store-bought "convenience" foods, I disagree that a food which contains shortening is healthy. Shortening is simply hydrogenated oil, and I think we all know by now how unhealthy hydrogenated oil is. Surely there is a tortilla recipe out there which does not contain shortening?

While I agree with your assertion that cooking at home can be more convenient (and healthier) than store-bought "convenience" foods, I disagree that a food which contains shortening is healthy. Shortening is simply hydrogenated oil, and I think we all know by now how unhealthy hydrogenated oil is. Surely there is a tortilla recipe out there which does not contain shortening?

I would assume this Mama is talking about Spectrum shortening that contains no hydrogenated oils...as far as I know, the shortening or lard is what softens up the tortillas....but you can use Spectrum to avoid trans fats.

Can you share your recipe for tortillas? I would LOVE to make them at home and fresh when we eat them but havent found a good recipe yet. The ones I made tasted like paper! (not that Ive eaten much paper )

I would assume this Mama is talking about Spectrum shortening that contains no hydrogenated oils...as far as I know, the shortening or lard is what softens up the tortillas....but you can use Spectrum to avoid trans fats.

According to several sources on the internet, a food product can legally contain up to half a gram of trans fat in one serving and claim 0 trans fat. Half a gram may not seem like much, but trans fat in ANY amount is extremely unhealthy; it's not like other things that are ok in moderation.

So while I can't say for sure whether Spectrum has any trans fat, I am skeptical. Margarines and shortenings are made of oil that has been turned into a solid at room temperature (to make it more stable), and the way they achieve this solid state is by injecting the oil with hydrogen (thus the term partially hydrogenated oil). I would like to know how Spectrum achieves their solid state. I can't find that information on their website. They explain in detail the process of hydrogenation and why it's unhealthy, but I can't find anywhere that they come out and state that they do not hydrogenate their product. All I can find is that they state over and over that their product is free of trans fat. And again, companies are allowed to label their product that way as long as the product contains less than half a gram per serving.

My list is similar to yours. The cleaning products are not as high on it for me, but would rather go for non toxic 1st.

Guns or weapons (toy or real.)
violent games, books or movies
porn
drugs, cigarettes, and most alcohol (DH and I do not drink it, we do allow guests to bring their own but we don't keep it in the house.)
Bratz dolls. Evil things. There will be none in my house or things like them.
Rap music
things that are racist, anti Christian or anti Jewish or hateful things in general.

According to several sources on the internet, a food product can legally contain up to half a gram of trans fat in one serving and claim 0 trans fat. Half a gram may not seem like much, but trans fat in ANY amount is extremely unhealthy; it's not like other things that are ok in moderation.

So while I can't say for sure whether Spectrum has any trans fat, I am skeptical. Margarines and shortenings are made of oil that has been turned into a solid at room temperature (to make it more stable), and the way they achieve this solid state is by injecting the oil with hydrogen (thus the term partially hydrogenated oil). I would like to know how Spectrum achieves their solid state. I can't find that information on their website. They explain in detail the process of hydrogenation and why it's unhealthy, but I can't find anywhere that they come out and state that they do not hydrogenate their product. All I can find is that they state over and over that their product is free of trans fat. And again, companies are allowed to label their product that way as long as the product contains less than half a gram per serving.

Right, that is true. But Spectrum has no hydrogenation in it. For one thing, it's sold at Whole Foods and they don't carry anything with hydrogenation. The companies can label the product as "no trans fat" but you can still read the ingredients to check for hydrogenation. The products that are labeled no trans fat still have to list "less than 2% partially hydrogenated blah, blah, blah.

There are several products that are solid without hydrogenation. It's not that it's impossible...it's just more costly for the companies so they aren't interested.: